Communications techniques

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a method of generating a record of a call, the method, performed by a first device, comprising: performing a voice communications call with a second electronic device over a first communications channel; receiving and/or transmitting, during the voice communications call, call content data over a second communications channel; generating call details in dependence on the voice communications call; and generating a record of the call, wherein the record comprises the call details stored in association with the call content data. Advantageously, each generated call record provides an entry point to access data or to search information related to each call.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. Nationalization of PCT Application NumberPCT/EP2015/051579, filed on Jan. 27, 2015, which claims priority to GBPatent Application No. 1401390.9, filed on Jan. 27, 2014, the entiretiesof which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for generating a recordof a call between a first device and a second device over a firstcommunications channel, the record including call content data receivedand/or transmitted between the first and second devices over a secondcommunications channel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The processes by which a user of a mobile telephone makes a call arewell established.

In order to start a call, a calling party enters, or selects from acontact list, a telephone number of a called party that the callingparty would like to call. The telephone of the calling party thengenerates and transmits a call request to a telephone of the calledparty. The called party then receives the call and the call request willeither be accepted or the request will fail. If the request is accepted,then the called and calling parties can talk to each other over a voicecommunications call. If the request fails, then a voice communicationcall is not established. A request may fail for a number of reasons,such as the called telephone being engaged, the called party being awayfrom their telephone, the called party being out of reach (i.e. in anarea without mobile signal coverage) or the called party activelyrejecting the call request. After a call request has failed, the callingparty is usually then provided with the option of leaving a voicemailmessage. The called party is then informed, by a text message, that avoicemail message has been left for them. The called party can then calltheir voicemail number to listen to the message. Alternatively, or inaddition, to leaving a voicemail message, the calling party may send thecalled party a text message. For both accepted and failed requests, callrecords are generated by the telephones of the calling and calledparties that comprise details of the call. A call log is stored on eachtelephone that comprises the call records resulting from a plurality ofaccepted and failed call requests that each party has had. The storeddetails in each record typically consist of a telephone number and thetime, date and, for each accepted request, the duration of the call.

A number of problems exist with the above-described known processes.

The calling party has no way of influencing how a received call requestis seen by a called party. A called party may, for example, decide toactively reject a received call request because was currently in ameeting. This would be appropriate for a call regarding a matter ofminor importance, such as a request from his wife to buy some bread onhis way home. However, for a matter of high importance, such as theirchild has been involved in an accident, then refusing the call would notbe appropriate. The calling party, however, has no way of providing anyindication of the nature, reason, or importance, of a call when sendinga call request.

When a call request has failed, the called party will see a missed callnotification displayed on their telephone. The called party may alsohave received a notification that they have received a voicemail messageand/or text message from the called party. However, the calling partyhas no way of providing any indication of the nature, reason, orimportance, of the call that was missed. Accordingly, to gain thisinformation, the called party has to call their voicemail and, among allof their messages, find the right voicemail message to listen to beforeknowing if that missed call was important or not. If a text message hasbeen received, then this is mixed in with any other text messages thathave been received and the called party has to read through all of thetext messages before determining if anything important has occurred.

In addition, the data stored in call logs is very limited. When viewinga call record, the called party can only determine when the call tookplace and who the call was with. The called party is not reminded ofwhat the call was about, why the call occurred, where the call tookplace and any further information that would be of assistance to thecalled party.

Accordingly, there is a general need to improve the above-discussedknown processes to improve the experiences of both called and callingparties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Methods and apparatus are described for generating a record of a call,the method comprising a first device: performing a voice communicationscall with a second electronic device over a first communicationschannel; receiving and/or transmitting, during the voice communicationscall, call content data over a second communications channel; generatingcall details in dependence on the voice communications call; andgenerating a record of the call, wherein the record comprises the calldetails stored in association with the call content data.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof generating a record of a call between a first device and a seconddevice, the method, being performed by the first device, comprising:performing a voice communications call with a second device over a firstcommunications channel; at least one of receiving, transmitting, orreceiving and transmitting, during the voice communications call, callcontent data over a second communications channel; generating calldetails in dependence on the voice communications call; and generating arecord of the call, wherein the record comprises the call details storedin association with the call content data.

Preferably, the call details comprise one or more of the time, date andduration of the call and the number of the second device (e.g. secondelectronic device).

Preferably, the call content data comprises one or more of: anindication of the importance, subject or reason for the call; locationdata; images; and any other data or media.

Preferably, the call content data is stored on the first device (e.g. afirst electronic device).

Preferably, the call content data is stored at a remote location fromthe first device (e.g. first electronic device).

Preferably the method further comprises: generating a call logcomprising a plurality of call records; and displaying the call log onthe first device (e.g. first electronic device); wherein the callrecords of the call log are displayed as selectable items such that auser of the first device is able to select a call record and therebyobtain both the call details and the call content data.

Preferably, the first channel is either a circuit switched channel or apacket switched channel.

Preferably, the second channel is either a circuit switched channel or apacket switched channel.

Preferably, the first channel is a circuit switched channel and thesecond channel is a packet switched channel.

Preferably, the first and second channels are provided by RichCommunications Suite, RCS.

Preferably, performing the voice communications call with the seconddevice over a first communications channel further comprisestransmitting, from the first device to the second device, an enhancedcall request comprising a call request and call data, where the recordcomprises the call details stored in association with the call requestand call data.

Preferably, the call request is transmitted over the first channel andthe call data is transmitted over the second channel, the first channelbeing different to the second channel.

Preferably, performing the voice communications call with the seconddevice further comprises, before placing the voice communications call,inputting additional data representative of the call data, theadditional data comprising one or more of: the importance of the call;one or more of subject, reason, or context of the call; a location; oran image.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided amobile telephone configured to perform any of the above-described themethods.

Preferably, the mobile telephone may include a memory unit, a processorunit, and a communication interface, the processor unit coupled to thememory unit, and the communication interface, where the memory unitcomprises instructions stored thereon, which when executed on theprocessor unit, causes the mobile telephone to perform a methodcomprising: performing, by the processor unit and communicationinterface, a voice communications call with a second device over a firstcommunications channel; at least one of receiving, transmitting, orreceiving and transmitting (e.g. receiving and/or transmitted), by thecommunication interface during the voice communications call, callcontent data over a second communications channel; generating, by theprocessor unit, call details in dependence on the voice communicationscall; and generating, by the processor unit, a record of the call,wherein the record comprises the call details stored in association withthe call content data.

Preferably, the memory unit further comprises instructions storedthereon, which when executed on the processor unit, causes the mobiletelephone to perform the method according to any one of theabove-described methods or the methods described herein.

The methods described herein may be performed by software in machinereadable form on a tangible storage medium e.g. in the form of acomputer program comprising computer program code means adapted toperform all the steps of any of the methods described herein when theprogram is run on a processor and where the computer program may beembodied on a computer readable medium. Examples of tangible (ornon-transitory) computer readable medium or storage media include memoryunits, hard disk drives, disks, thumb drives, memory cards etc. and donot include propagated signals. The software can be suitable forexecution on a parallel processor or a serial processor such that themethod steps may be carried out in any suitable order, orsimultaneously.

This acknowledges that firmware and software can be valuable, separatelytradable commodities. It is intended to encompass software, which runson or controls “dumb” or standard hardware, to carry out the desiredfunctions. It is also intended to encompass software which “describes”or defines the configuration of hardware, such as HDL (hardwaredescription language) software, as is used for designing silicon chips,or for configuring universal programmable chips, to carry out desiredfunctions.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided atangible computer readable medium comprising computer program code toconfigure a first device to perform a method comprising: performing avoice communications call with a second device over a firstcommunications channel; at least one of receiving, transmitting, orreceiving and transmitting (e.g. receiving and/or transmitting), duringthe voice communications call, call content data over a secondcommunications channel; generating call details in dependence on thevoice communications call; and generating a record of the call, whereinthe record comprises the call details stored in association with thecall content data.

Preferably, the tangible computer readable medium further comprisingcomputer program code to configure the first device to perform themethod according to any one of the above-described methods or themethods as described herein.

The preferred features may be combined as appropriate, as would beapparent to a skilled person, and may be combined with any of theaspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are discussed below, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1a shows first and second communication channels between first andsecond devices according to embodiments;

FIG. 1b is a flowchart showing a method of generating a record of a callaccording to embodiments;

FIGS. 2a and 2b show displays on a mobile telephone according to a thirdembodiment;

FIG. 3 shows an RCS system for use in embodiments;

FIG. 4a is a schematic diagram illustrating a first device (e.g. amobile telephone) according to embodiments;

FIG. 4b shows an architecture according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 5 shows communication paths according to an embodiment.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the figures to indicatesimilar features.

It will also be appreciated that although features from each of theembodiments may be identified by different reference numerals in thefigures and throughout the description, similar features including theproperties and functionality attributed thereto, from one embodiment maybe interchangeable with those of another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention solve at least some of the above-describedproblems experienced by called and calling parties. It is to beappreciated by the skilled person that embodiments of the presentinvention are described below by way of example only. These examplesrepresent the best ways of putting the invention into practice that arecurrently known to the Applicant although they are not the only ways inwhich this could be achieved. The description sets forth the functionsof the example and the sequence of steps for constructing and operatingthe example(s). However, the same or equivalent functions and sequencesmay be accomplished by different examples.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” “first embodiment,” “second embodiment,” “thirdembodiment,” or the like, indicate that the embodiment described mayinclude a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but everyembodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the relevant art(s) to implement such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described.

According to a first embodiment, a calling party is provided with a wayof indicating the relevance, importance, or nature of a call requestthat is sent to a called party. When a call request is received by thecalled party, their telephone displays not only an indication that acall request has been received but also further data that allows thecalled party to make a more informed decision on whether or not toanswer the call.

According to the first embodiment, a calling party determines a numberto be called, for example by selecting it from a contact list. Beforeplacing a call (i.e. pressing the call button on their telephone), thecalling party inputs, via a user interface of their telephone,additional data that is referred to herein as call data. The call datais transmitted to the called party at the same time as the call request.At the called party's telephone, a display of the call request isgenerated in dependence on a combination of the received call requestand the received call data. The display of the call request is thereforeenhanced by the call data and the called party is able to make a moreinformed decision regarding whether or not to accept the call request inthat moment.

The call data may provide an indication of one or more of the following:

-   -   a) Importance/urgency of the call        -   The calling party sets a status of the call as important.            The called party will see that this call has been marked as            ‘important’ by the caller, for example a red flag may be            provided next to the displayed call request.    -   b) Subject/reason/context of the call        -   The calling party writes some text that appears on the            called party's incoming call screen. Before answering the            call, the called party can read a note sent by the calling            party and thereby make a more informed decision about            whether or not to answer the call.    -   c) A Location        -   The calling party sends a location as pin on a map. This may            be the calling party's current location, as automatically            determined by the calling party's telephone, or any other            location that can be found with an electronic map            application. The called party is provided with this location            information on the incoming call screen before deciding to            answer or reject the call.    -   d) A Photo/Image        -   The calling party sends an image, such as a photo from a            gallery stored on the telephone or took on the moment of            making the call. The called party sees the image on the            incoming call screen before deciding to answer or reject the            call.

The call data and call request are transmitted from the calling party'stelephone to the called party's telephone over different channels. Thecall request, and resulting voice call if the call the request isaccepted, are made over a first channel. The first channel may be eithercircuit switched (in case of normal circuit switching (CS) call) orpacket switched (PS) (e.g. Voice over Long Term Evolution (LTE) or Videoover LTE calls if the user is under LTE coverage or Rich CommunicationsSuite (RCS) VoIP calls in case the user is under Wi-Fi or High SpeedPacket Access (HSPA) coverage). The call data is sent, in parallel tothe call request, over a second channel that is packet switched.

FIG. 1a shows a configuration for supporting communications betweenfirst and second devices 102 and 104, respectively, over parallel firstand second communication channels 106 a and 106 b, respectively. Thefirst device 102 may be the device of the calling party (e.g. callingparty's telephone) and the second device 104 that of the called party(e.g. called party's telephone). Although not shown in FIG. 1a , thefirst and second channels 106 a and 106 b between the first and seconddevices 102 and 104 would be provided by any network suitable forsupporting circuit or packet switched communications.

The call request and call data are both transmitted from the callingparty's telephone (e.g. first device 102) in a way that the calledparty's telephone (e.g. second device 104) is able to determine that thecall data corresponds to the call request. For example, a call requestidentifier may be generated by the calling party's telephone 102 andincluded in both the call request and the call data. The called party'stelephone 104 is therefore able to determine that a received callrequest over the first channel 106 a and received call data over thesecond channel 106 b correspond to an enhanced call request sent by thecalling party. The called party's telephone 104 therefore automaticallyuses the call data to generate and display an enhanced call request. Thesecond channel 106 b may be a dedicated channel and preferably providesthe call data in advance of the call request being received so that theonly generated call request is an enhanced call request.

Advantageously, the calling party is able to add information about thecall he is about to make and this is received by the called partytogether with the incoming call notification. The called party, togetherwith the standard accept/reject options available on incoming callscreen, sees the additional information sent by the caller on the sameincoming call screen. The information sent by the caller can be of anytype: importance flag, text note, a location, a picture. The addedinformation makes the call request more relevant to the called party byproving context, expressing the reason for the call, and creatinginterest about the call. The called party can therefore make a betterdecision about whether or not to accept the call request in that moment.

According to a second embodiment, a calling party is provided with a wayof indicating the relevance, importance, or nature of a missed call byenriching its notification that is displayed on the telephone of acalled party after a call request has failed. The missed callnotification not only informs the called party that they have missed acall but also provides further data that that informs the called partyof the nature, importance or reason of the call attempt from the callingparty.

According to the second embodiment, the telephone of a calling party(e.g. first device 102) sends a call request to a called party. The callrequest fails, for example because the called telephone (e.g. seconddevice 104) was engaged, the called party was away from their telephone104, the called party actively rejected the call request or it was notpossible to establish communications with the called party's telephone104 due to the called party being out of reach (i.e. in an area withoutmobile signal coverage). The calling party's telephone 102 thendetermines that the call request failed and immediately provides aprompt on its user interface for the calling party to input additionaldata that is referred to herein as missed call data.

In response to receiving the prompt, the calling party may do one, orboth, of:

-   -   a) Leave a call note        -   The calling party writes some text data related to that            failed call attempt to express the reason of that call or to            express the urgency/need of getting in touch via phone.    -   b) Leave a voice message        -   The calling party can record a voice message related to that            call to express the reason of that call or to express the            urgency/need of getting in touch via phone.

The input missed call data is then transmitted to the called party'stelephone 104 and used to enhance the missed call notification that isdisplayed to the called party.

Different form known voicemail and text messaging techniques following amissed call, the missed call data is directly associated with aparticular call attempt and the data sent by the calling party isreceived by the called party within the missed call notification of thatcall attempt. The missed call notification may then provide, in additionto contact name/number and time of the call, further data that providesthe nature, importance or reason for the call attempt. All this data iscontained in one place, the missed call notification, and there is noneed for the calling party to work through all of their messages todetermine if any of them require urgent attention.

The missed call data and call request are transmitted from the callingparty's telephone 102 to the called party's telephone 104 over differentchannels. The call request is made over a first channel 106 a. The firstchannel 106 a may be either circuit switched (in case of normal CS call)or packet switched (e.g. Voice over LTE or Video over LTE calls if theuser is under LTE coverage or RCS VoIP calls in case the user is underWi-Fi or HSPA coverage). The missed call data is sent over a secondchannel 106 b, parallel to the first channel 106 a, that may is packetswitched. The first and second channels 106 a and 106 b may respectivelycorrespond to the first and second channels 106 a and 106 b as describedfor the first embodiment and shown in FIG. 1 a.

The missed call data may be transmitted over the second channel 106 b,that may be a dedicated channel, with a flag that links the missed calldata to the failed call request. The called party's telephone 104 mayhave displayed a missed call notification, according to missed callnotifications known in the art, as soon as the call attempt failed. Onreceiving the missed call data, the flag triggers an enhancement of thealready displayed missed call notification by adding a direct display ofthe additional text data, in case of call note, and/or by adding aplayback function for the audio file, in case of voice message, into themissed call notification. The missed call data is preferably alsoincluded, or associated, with all logs of the failed call attempt andany other missed call touch points on the user interface of the calledtelephone 104.

It is not essential for the missed call data to comprise a flag, and themissed call data need only comprise identification data that allows thecalled party's telephone 104 to associate the received missed call datawith the failed call request.

Advantageously, the calling party is able to add information about themissed call to the missed call notification provided to the calledparty. The called party can therefore make a better decision aboutwhether or not a missed call relates to matter that requires immediateattention.

According to a third embodiment, both the called and calling parties areprovided with call logs that comprise enhanced records of their made,received and missed calls. The enhanced call records comprise additionaldata related to each call, such as any text or image data sent andreceived during a call or with a call request. The user experience istherefore greatly improved over known techniques in which the user isprovided with very limited information regarding the call.

According to the third embodiment, either call or a failed call attemptoccurs between a calling and called party. The call request, and voicecall if the call request is accepted, are made over a first channel 106a. The first channel 106 a may be either circuit switched (in case ofnormal CS call) or packet switched (e.g. Voice over LTE or Video overLTE calls if the user is under LTE coverage or RCS VoIP calls in casethe user is under Wi-Fi or HSPA coverage). As described for the firstembodiment, call data may be sent together with the call request, inparallel to the call request, over a second channel 106 b that is packetswitched. During a call, further call content data is transferred overthe second channel 106 b. The first and second channels 106 a and 106 bmay be as described for the first and second embodiments and shown inFIG. 1 a.

After a call has been completed, a call record is generated thatcomprises standard call details (i.e. the telephone number and the time,date and, for each accepted request, the duration of the call) inassociation with the call content data. A call log is generated thatcomprises one or more of the call records. When the calling or calledparty selects a call record in the call log to view, they are able todirectly access the call content data without having to retrieve suchdata via a different process.

The call content data comprises any call data sent with a call requestand may be text, image, video or any other data that the calling andcalled party transfer to each other, or is automatically generated,during a call. For example, the call content data may comprise data onany of:

-   -   a) Importance/subject/reason of the call        -   The calling party may set the call request as important            and/or the caller may add a short text explaining the            reason/context of the call when making the call.    -   b) Location(s)        -   Location data may be sent at a time when a call has been            placed or shared during the call. The location(s) relative            to that call can be accessed from the call record of that            call.    -   c) Photo(s)/Image(s)        -   An image, such as a photo, may be sent at the time when the            call is been placed or shared during the call. In this case            the image can be accessed from the call record of that call    -   d) Data/Media        -   During the call any data or media, such as contact            information or video, may be shared. This can be accessed            from the call record of that call.

The call content data may be stored on the telephone itself or at remotelocation from the mobile telephone, such as a network server. Wheneither the calling or called party instructs their telephone to displaytheir call log, the log displays one or more of the call recordsgenerated according to the third embodiment. The call records areselectable and, after selecting a call record, a link to the callcontent data is provided. Selecting the link will either retrieve thecall content data from a memory of the telephone or trigger a requestfor the download of the call content data from a remote location.

Advantageously, the call content data is accessible by the user bytapping on the displayed call record in a call log. The visualization ofall of call details and related data is provided with call backfunctionality maintained. Via these features the user can make use ofthe call records for gathering or retrieving content or data related toall of the calls, made, received and missed. The call record becomespart of the calling experience and provides an entry point to accessdata or to search information related to each call.

FIG. 1b is a flow diagram of an example method 110 for generating arecord of call between a first device 102 and a second device 104 duringa voice communication call. The method may be performed by the firstdevice 102 and includes the following:

At 112, the first device 102 performs a voice communications call withthe second device 104 over a first communications channel 106 a.

At 114, the first device 102 receives and/or transmits (or at least oneof receives, transmits, or receives and transmits), during the voicecommunications call, call content data over a second communicationschannel.

At 116, the first device generates call details in dependence on thevoice communications call.

At 118, the first device generates a record of the call, where therecord comprises the call details stored in association with the callcontent data.

At 114-118, the call details may further comprise one or more of thetime, date and duration of the call and the number of the second device.Additionally or alternatively, the call content data may furthercomprises one or more of: an indication of the importance, subject orreason for the call; location data; images; and any other data or media.

At 114-118, the call content data may be stored on the first device.Additionally or alternatively, the call content data is stored at aremote location from the first device.

The method may further include: generating a call log comprising aplurality of call records; and displaying the call log on the firstdevice; where the call records of the call log are displayed asselectable items such that a user of the first device is able to selecta call record and thereby obtain both the call details and the callcontent data.

The first channel 106 a may be either a circuit switched channel or apacket switched channel. The second channel 106 b may be either acircuit switched channel or a packet switched channel. Additionally oralternatively, the first channel 106 a is a circuit switched channel andthe second channel 106 b is a packet switched channel. As an option, thefirst and second channels 106 a and 106 b are provided by RichCommunications Suite (RCS).

At step 112, performing the voice communications call with the seconddevice 104 over a first communications channel 106 a may further includetransmitting, from the first device 102 to the second device 104, anenhanced call request including a call request and call data, where therecord comprises the call details stored in association with the callrequest and call data.

At step 112, the call request may be transmitted over the first channel106 a and the call data may be transmitted over the second channel 106b, the first channel 106 a being different to the second channel 106 b.

At step 112, performing the voice communications call with the seconddevice 104 may further include, before placing the voice communicationscall, inputting additional data representative of the call data, theadditional data comprising one or more of: the importance of the call;one or more of subject, reason, or context of the call; a location; oran image.

FIG. 2a shows a display 202 of a call log on a mobile telephone 200according to the third embodiment. When the user of the mobile telephone200 selects the call record 204 for Friday, 6 Dec. 2014, the display ofthe call record 206 as shown in FIG. 2b is provided. Advantageously, theuser is provided with a display of the importance level 208, location210 and text data 212 that were sent with the call request as well asthe standard call details 214.

Exemplary techniques for use in implementing the first, second and thirdembodiments are described below.

While the first channel can be circuit switched (in case of normal CScalls) or packet switched (depending on the access network the packetswitched calls can be made via Voice over LTE or Video over LTEstandards if the user is under LTE coverage, otherwise made via RCS VoIPin case the user is under Wi-Fi coverage), preferably the RichCommunications Suite, RCS, is used to provide the second channel, andtransfer of data over this channel, as described for the first, secondand third embodiments.

RCS Release 1 was first published in December 2008. RCS was defined bythe Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), an association oftelecommunications operators and related companies, with the aim ofproducing an umbrella of advanced communication services prioritisingthe interoperability of the services across network operators andhandset manufacturers. RCS Release 1 established the main services andcomponents to be used as part of RCS such as enhanced address books andchat, for example, instant messaging. RCS Release 2 was published inJune 2009 and expanded Release 1 to cover Broadband Access (BA) devicessuch as personal computers (PCs) connected over Wi-Fi in addition to themobile telecommunications devices supported by Release 1. Release 3, inaddition to other enhancements, included functionality that advancedcommunication services, such as video, did not require a voice call tobe initiated prior to the initiation of the advanced communicationservices, whereas this had been the case in previous releases.

As mentioned above, RCS defines advanced communication services foradoption. It defines the profiles and implementation for adoption ofexisting standardised services as defined by various standardisationbodies, such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), OpenMobile Alliance (OMA) or Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Thecommunication services defined by RCS include chat, file transfer, imageshare and video share (one-way and two-way). Other functionality definedin RCS includes enhanced address book (EAB), including servicecapability and social presence, network address book (NAB), includingremote back-up and restore and enhanced messaging, including messagehistory. An example of a communications service provided by RCS istwo-way video sharing or video calling.

RCS defines inter-operable communications services to be adopted bynetwork operators and mobile handset manufacturers. RCS adopts variousexisting standards and defines how they should be implemented. It usesthe known IP Multimedia Sub-system (IMS) to provide the framework forthese services. IMS is an architectural framework for deliveringinternet protocol (IP) multimedia services. One of the key components ofIMS is the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) protocol SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP) which is used to control multimediacommunications sessions over IP.

FIG. 3 shows, schematically, an exemplary RCS system 300. A plurality ofdevices 306, 308, 310, 312, 314 and 316 may be connected to a networkoperator's core network 302/304 via a variety of connection methods.These may include second generation (2G) General Packet Radio Service(GPRS), 3G GPRS, HSPA/HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Broadband Access (BA) or 4G forexample Wi-Max or LTE. The devices 306-316 may include any devicesuitable for IP communications such as a mobile telephone (e.g. smartphone), personal digital assistant, laptop equipped with a data card orlaptop or PC connected over BA or Wi-Fi.

In communication with the core network 302 of the network operator isthe Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Sub-System (IMS) 304. The IMSprovides a form of Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) which aids thecommunication of multimedia and voice applications from wireless tofixed terminals 306-316.

FIG. 4a illustrates various components of an exemplary first device 400(e.g. a mobile telephone, electronics device or computing-based device)which may be implemented as any form of a mobile telephone, computingand/or electronic device in which the functionality of any of the first,second, and/or third embodiments or any combination thereof or aspectsas described herein may be implemented. As illustrated, first device 400may include one or more processors 402, one or more memory units 404,communication interface 406 and input/output controller 408, where theone or more processor(s) 402 are coupled or connected to the one or morememory unit(s) 404, communication interface 406 and input/outputcontroller 408.

First device 400 comprises one or more processor units 402 which may bemicroprocessors, controllers or any other suitable type of processorsfor processing computer executable instructions or instructions tocontrol the operation of the device 400 in order to perform one or moreof the methods and processes as described herein. For example, theoperation of the device 400 may be configured to implement one or moreof the method(s) as described with reference to FIGS. 1a, 1b, 2a -3 and4 b-5 or the methods as described herein. For example, the device 400may be configured to perform generating a record of a call between afirst device and a second device as described herein.

In some examples, for example where a system on a chip architecture isused, the processors 502 may include one or more fixed function blocks(also referred to as accelerators) which implement a part of the methodas describe with reference to FIGS. 1a, 1b and 2a -3, 4 b-5 or themethods as described herein in hardware (rather than software orfirmware).

Platform software and/or computer executable instructions may beprovided using any computer-readable media that is accessible by device400. Computer-readable media may include, for example, computer storagemedia such as the one or more memory unit(s) 404 and communicationsmedia. Computer storage media, such as memory unit 404, includesvolatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implementedin any method or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.

The one or more memory unit(s) 404 may include platform software and/orcomputer executable instructions representing an operating system 414 orany other suitable platform software that may be provided at the device400 to enable application software to be executed on the device 400. Thememory unit 404 may further include a data store 416 for storing data.Depending on the functionality and capabilities of the device 400 andapplications of the device 400, software and/or computer executableinstructions may optionally include one or more functions and/orapplications 418 a-418 n as described with reference to FIGS. 1a -3 and4 b-5. Applications 418 a-418 n may include one or more ofcommunications functions/application(s), address book(s) or contactsapplication(s), call log application(s), messaging application(s), phoneapplication(s), image gallery, music or camera application(s), game(s),multimedia application(s), social networking application(s),spreadsheets, utility applications, word processing, email, webbrowsers, calendars, and any other user application program configuredfor execution on processing unit 402, etc.

For example, application 418 a may optionally (as illustrated by thedashed boxes) include computer executable instructions, which whenexecuted on a processor 402, causes the processor 403 to perform amethod of generating a record of a call between the first device 400 anda second device. The application 418 a may optionally (as illustrated bythe dashed boxes) include one or more of generating recordsfunctionality 419 a, voice communications call functionality 419 b,generating call detail functionality 419 c, and receive/transmit callcontent detail functionality 419 d, which may be provided at the device400. Data store 416 may hold one or more record(s), call details, callcontent data, call data and other data associated with one or morecall(s) between the first device 400 and one or more second device(s).

Computer storage media may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM,EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other non-transmission medium that can be used to storeinformation for access by a computing device. In contrast, communicationmedia may embody computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as acarrier wave, or other transport mechanism. As defined herein, computerstorage media does not include communication media. Although thecomputer storage media (memory 404) is shown within the device 400 itwill be appreciated that the storage may be distributed or locatedremotely and accessed via a network 300 or other communication link(e.g. using communication interface 406).

Communication interface 406 may include, by way of example only, one ormore from the group of: one or more receiver(s); one or moretransmitters; or one or more receivers and one or more transmitters. Forexample, communication interface 406 may include one or more receiversand transmitters to enable the first device 400 to communicate with asecond device over a first channel and may include one or more receiversand transmitters to enable the first device 400 to communicate with thesecond device over a second channel. The first and second channels maybe different.

The first device 400 may also optionally or if desired comprises aninput/output controller 408 arranged to output display information to adisplay device 410 which may be separate from or integral to the firstdevice 400. The display information may provide a graphical userinterface. The input/output controller 408 may control one or moredevices or units including, but not limited to, a keypad or keypad,mouse, track pad, display screen, touchscreen display screen, or anyother form of input and/or output that allows a user to use the firstdevice 400. For example, the input/output controller 408 may be arrangedto receive and process input from one or more devices, such as a userinput device 412 (e.g. a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen). This user inputmay be used to initiate voice communications, input call data, input andshare call content data, view call logs and call records, e.g. select acall log to view a call record etc. In an embodiment the display device410 may also act as the user input device 412 e.g. it may be a touchsensitive display device. The input/output controller 408 may alsooutput data to devices other than the display device 410, e.g. a locallyconnected printing device or other external display device and the like.

As an example, in essence, the first device 400 (e.g. a mobile telephoneor other electronic device) includes a memory unit 404, a processor unit402, and a communication interface 406 in which the processor unit 402is coupled to the memory unit 404 and the communication interface 406.The memory unit 404 comprises computer code or computer executableinstructions stored thereon, which when executed on the processor unit402, causes the first device to perform a method comprising: performing,by the processor unit 402 and communication interface 406, a voicecommunications call with a second device over a first communicationschannel via network 300; at least one of receiving, transmitting, orreceiving and transmitting, by the communication interface 406 duringthe voice communications call, call content data over a secondcommunications channel via network 300; generating, by the processorunit 402, call details in dependence on the voice communications call;and generating, by the processor unit 402, a record of the call, wherethe record comprises the call details stored in association with thecall content data.

The term ‘device’ or ‘computer’ is used herein to refer to any devicewith processing capability such that it can execute instructions. Thoseskilled in the art will realise that such processing capabilities areincorporated into many different devices and therefore the term ‘device’or ‘computer’ includes PCs, servers, network nodes and other networkelements, mobile telephones, personal digital assistants, electronicdevices and many other devices.

RCS and IMS use the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) protocol in orderto control the multimedia communications sessions over IP defined in thesuite. SIP is a text-based protocol where each transaction consists of aclient request, that invokes a particular method or function on theserver, and a response. Each SIP request has a method which defines itsnature such as INVITE or OPTIONS. Each response contains a code combinedwith further information; these codes define the success or failure ofthe request.

Once the sessions have been initiated, other protocols may be used tofacilitate communication, such as the message session relay protocol(MSRP) or Relay Transfer Protocol (RTP). MSRP is typically used in RCSfor instant messaging, file transfer and image sharing while RTP is usedfor video sharing. For example, during a voice call, if a user wishes toshare some content, a SIP INVITE request may be used which is forwardedto all capable clients in the conversation. If the user accepts theinvitation, a ‘200 OK’ response is sent. A ‘603’ response is forwardedif the invitation is rejected. These protocols and services may be usedin exemplary embodiments. However, it should be understood that anysuitable protocols may be utilised to provide the described embodiments.

With regard to how RCS may more specifically be used to provide aspectsof embodiments, these are described below with reference to FIGS. 4b and5. FIG. 4b describes a specific Android implementation of the firstdevice 400 of FIG. 4a , where FIG. 4b describes the present inventionwith reference to the purely exemplary Vodafone Call+ system 420 (alsoreferred to as Call+) for providing the examples and embodiments of theinvention described herein on an Android device, e.g. the operatingsystem 414 of the first device 400 is based on the Android OS(Kernel/Runtime/Libs) 421.

FIG. 4b depicts the overall architecture for Vodafone Call+ system 420using the Android OS. Default Android applications 422 a-422 g such asPhone 422 a, Contacts 422 b and Call Log 422 c are modified according tothe invention for placing enriched calls for Call+ and providing aseamless user experience. The system 420 comprises plug-in a layerUnified Communications Manager (UCM) 424 between Android PhoneApplications 422 a-422 d and Android Telephony Manager 426 for routingCSNoIP calls. UCM 424 routes calls through either Telephony Manager 426(Circuit Switched, CS calls) or RCS stack 428 (IP calls). RCS stack 428provides all the capabilities for all RCS-based services needed forCall+ use cases. RCS stack 428 provides Joyn compliant APIs towardsNorth bound interface and the same can be used by the UCM 424 tointerface with the RCS stack 428.

UCMs 424 provides an interface to the modified Android Phone Application422 a to make or accept calls (CS or IP). UCM 424 dynamically decideswhether to route the call through RCS stack 428 for IP call or AndroidTelephony Manager 426 for normal CS call. UCM 424 also providesfunctionalities to support different Call+ use cases like Quick CallComposer 424 b and other in call services 424 a and 424 c-424 d. The UCM424 has the following functions:

-   -   1. Bearer Selection 424 a—UCM 424 is responsible for selecting        the bearer path for a particular call based on different        criteria. The UCM 424 also provides an option to Phone        Application 422 a through which user can override the selection        of bearer. The bearer selection may be done based on the user        setting through a master switch available in the system 420. The        UCM 424 may alternatively be enhanced to make the bearer        selection based on certain defined criteria such capabilities of        the remote party, availability of a particular bearer type,        available signal strength and/or data speeds.    -   2. Quick Call Composer 424 b—The UCM 424 provides an interface        to the Android Phone Application 422 a for making enriched RCS        calls, i.e. calls and call requests according to the embodiments        described herein. Phone App 424 a passes various parameters like        importance of the call, subject, location and image while making        a call in case user wants to make an enriched call. The UCM 424        keeps this data and uses it to invoke various services provided        by RCS stack 428 for making enriched calls. UCM 424 creates an        eXtensible Markup Language (XML) output of the user provided        data and sends this XML output to a remote party. The image is        uploaded to a content server and the uniform resource locator        (URL) at server is used in the XML output sent to the remote        party.    -   3. In Call Services 424 c—UCM 424 is responsible for providing        all the in-call services like image share, video share, file        transfer etc. UCM 424 performs the capability discovery using        RCS stack 428 and provide this information to upper layer        applications which in turn show available options to the user.        UCM 424 provide APIs and notification to the Phone Application        422 a to perform in-call services. FIG. 5 shows an example of        communication flows 500 for an outgoing in-call Image Share        feature:    -   4. Quality Of Experience 424 d—The UCM 424 is responsible for        collecting and providing the Call Quality Key Performance        Indicators (KPIs) to the application. The UCM 424 collects the        following KPIs which are an indication of a user's Quality of        Experience: packet loss (TX/RX), jitter (TX/RX), bandwidth        utilization.

In the Call+ application context, the objective of the Media ShareManager 430 is to enable a user to share the media with other usersduring the call or otherwise. To enable Call+ application to use as acontent sharing application, Sharing intent is implemented as part ofMedia Share Manager 430. Any Android application that wants to share thecontent will show Call+ as an option. Android default media applicationsare: Gallery 422 e, Camera 422 g and Music 422 f.

The default gallery application 422 e provides interfaces (Intents) forother applications to choose an image and use the same accordingly. Italso uses ShareActionProvider to show the list of applications that canbe used for sharing. Media Share Manager 430 registers Intent forsharing which will add Call+ in the list of available options when userselects share option in Gallery application 422 e.

The default camera application 422 g also provides interfaces (Intents)so that other application can invoke it and use it to capture image orvideo. Media Share Manager 430 will also use the same intent to usecamera application 422 g for sharing the content.

The default music application 422 f does not provide any way to sharethe music and hence the application is extended with the sharing featureof Android.

RCS stack 428 is a RCS-e compliant stack, which provides Joyn compliantinterfaces towards the upper layer application. It provides thefollowing RCS features:

-   -   IP Voice and Video Call    -   Enhanced Address Book    -   Network Address Book via SyncML;    -   Image and Video Share;    -   Chat and Group Chat;    -   File Transfer;    -   Multi-device support

UCM 424 uses the Joyn APIs provided by the RCS SDK, to interface withthe RCS stack 428 for supporting Call+ use cases for IP voice calls,in-call, image and video sharing, location sharing etc.

Vodaphone Call+ applications for implementing the invention may consistof, by way of example only but not limited to, following subcomponents:

-   -   handling Call+ initiation (CallBuilder+)    -   selecting and sending Call+ data (CallData+)    -   receiving and viewing the data (CallView+)    -   Call+ notifications (CallNotifier+).

CallData+ and CallView+ are related to Quick Call Composer 424 b.

CallBuilder+ subcomponent allows user to create options for the new call(add file to share, video, photo, location, call importance, message,other contacts etc.) and start the call or conference. For example, thissubcomponent may implement at least part of performing a voicecommunications call with a second device over a first communicationschannel.

CallData+ subcomponent allows a user to select data (shared files,video, messages, location, etc.) for the current call. For example, thissubcomponent may implement at least part of receiving and/ortransmitting, during the voice communications call, call content dataover a second communications channel.

CallView+ subcomponent allows a user to see and select (manipulate with)data (shared files, video, messages, location, status of the caller,etc.) that are received from another call-end. For example, thissubcomponent may implement at least part of generating call detailsindependence on the voice communications call. In addition, thissubcomponent may implement at least part of generating a record of thecall, where the record comprises the call details stored with the callcontent data. For example, this subcomponent may implement at least partof displaying the call log on the first device, where the call log isdisplayed as selectable items, where the user of the first device mayselect a call record and thereby obtain both the call details and thecall content data.

CallNotifier+ subcomponent is activated from the Android status bar andallows a user to see Call+ notifications and information (missed calls,call info, history, etc.). For example, this subcomponent may implementat least part of displaying the call log on the first device, where thecall log is displayed as selectable items, where the user of the firstdevice may select a call record and thereby obtain both the call detailsand the call content data.

The applications 422 a-422 d may be modified as follows:

-   -   Contacts Application 422 b        -   Visual element is added that activates the CallBuilder+.        -   Visual element is added that indicates the Call+            availability of the selected contact.    -   Phone Application 422 a        -   Visual element is added that activates the CallData+ to            select and send data to the caller(s).        -   Visual element is added to indicate that new data has been            received and activate CallView+ to preview, open and            manipulate the data.        -   Visual elements are added to indication of the Call+ status.        -   Visual elements are added to indicate, preview, answer or            reject Call+ when receiving the call (in-call).    -   Messaging Application 422 d        -   Visual element is added that activates the CallBuilder+.        -   Visual element is added that indicates the Call+            availability of the selected contact.    -   Launcher (Home Screen)        -   Minor updates to implement calling technology indication and            some master switch widget for end-to-end call technology are            provided.

With regard to Call+ and Android integration, Call+ features areentwined within the Android framework and Android Native applications.The integration is achieved by:

-   -   1. Phone application 422 a UI supporting In-call features    -   2. The new layer, i.e. UCM 424, between the Phone UI and        Telephony Manager 426.    -   3. The UCM 424 layer having the logic to select the bearer (VoIP        or CS Voice).    -   4. Various modification of other default applications like        directory, call log 422 c, music 422 g to support Call+        features.    -   5. Call+ being the default Android phone application 422 a.

Although the Android implementation and architecture is described hereinwith reference to, but not limited to, specific Android applications,kernel, libraries, functions, layers and/or subcomponents and/orcombinations thereof, this is by way of example only, and it is to beappreciated by the skilled person that any suitable operating system,framework and/or related applications are applicable, e.g. Windows orApple iOS etc., for implementing the invention as described. Althoughthe Vodafone Call+ system 420 is described with reference to, but notlimited to, specifically named applications, functions and/orsubcomponents and combinations thereof, this is by way of example only,and it is to be appreciated by the skilled person that the specificapplications, functions and/or subcomponents and/or combinations thereofas described and named herein can be implemented in any other waysuitable for implementing the invention as described herein.

FIG. 5 is a signalling flow diagram according to an embodiment showingthe communication flows 500 for an outgoing in-call image share feature,where the call content exchanged on the second channel is an image. At502, there is an ongoing call, e.g. a voice communications call, betweena first device (e.g. A) and a second device (e.g. B). In this example, acapability exchange has been performed and both devices know thecapability of the other device that enables an image to be sharedbetween the first and second devices.

At 504, the phone application 422 a of the first device sends a Requestfor ImageShare message towards the second device. The UCM 424 of thefirst device receives the Request for ImageShare message, and inresponse, at 506, sends a ShareImage( ) towards the RCS stack 428. TheShareImage( ) includes the image to be shared. On receiving theShareImage( ) message, the RCS stack 428 at 508 sends an Invite(MSRPSDP) message towards the second device, which is routed at 510 via theIMS Core Network 302/304 to the phone application 422 a of the seconddevice.

At 512 and 514 a SIP message (200 OK) is send to the RCS Stack via theIMS Core network 302/304. At 516, the RCS Stack 428, in response toreceiving the 200 OK message, triggers image sharing and the RCS Stack428 transmits the OnSharingStarted( ) message towards the phoneapplication 422 a of the first device via the UCM 424. At 518, the UCM424 sends an Update Status message to the phone application 422 a of thefirst device indicating that images can be shared between the first andsecond devices.

At 520-526, the image is shared from the first device to the seconddevice. In this case, at 520 and 524, the RCS stack 428 shares the imagewith the second device using MSRP Send messages. At 522 and 526, thesecond device acknowledges receipt of the image data using 200 OKmessages sent via the RCS stack 428.

In 528, the RCS stack 428 has finished transmitting the image data andsends an OnImageShared message towards the UCM 424, which sends, at 530,an update status message to phone application 422 a of the first deviceto indicate the image has been shared.

At 532-538, the RCS stack 428 terminates the image sharing with thesecond device by sending, at 532, BYE messages via the IMS core network300/302. At 536, the second device sends acknowledge messages, e.g., a200 OK message, to the IMS Core network 300/302, which relays the 200 OKmessages, at 538, to the RCS stack 424. This terminates the image sharebetween first and second devices.

A number of modifications and variations can be made to theabove-described embodiments. It will be understood that the benefits andadvantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate toseveral embodiments. The embodiments are not limited to those that solveany or all of the stated problems or those that have any or all of thestated benefits and advantages.

The techniques of any of the first, second and third embodiments may beapplied in combination with each other so that the user experience, ofboth the calling and called parties, is improved during all of thesending of call requests, the display of missed call notifications andthe viewing of call records.

In a particularly preferred implementation, the first channel is circuitswitched (in case of normal CS calls) or packet switched (depending onthe access network the packet switched calls can be made via Voice overLTE or Video over LTE standards if the user is under LTE coverage,otherwise made via RCS VoIP in case the user is under Wi-Fi coverage).In another particularly preferred implementation, the second channelpacket switched.

Embodiments refer to telephones of the calling and called parties. Thesemay be any type of mobile telephone, such as a smart phone, orcommunications device capable of providing both voice and datacommunications.

It will be understood that the exemplary embodiments described hereinmay be implemented over data only links, in combination with voice or asstandalone services. In addition, the features described may beimplemented in conjunction with known user experience models andcommunication services. Although the present invention has beendescribed in terms of specific services, it will be understood that anyservices and communication methods will be suitable for use with theprinciples of the present invention. Services may be defined in thefuture that will be equally applicable with the embodiments describedherein.

The embodiments described herein may be implemented on any deviceoperating system. It will be understood that the key service logic isdescribed and that the skilled person may implement these featuresdifferently when presenting them to the user. The processes describedherein may be automated or may be performed upon manual instruction.

Any reference to an item refers to one or more of those items. The term‘comprising’ is used herein to mean including the method blocks orelements identified, but that such blocks or elements do not comprise anexclusive list and a method or apparatus may contain additional blocksor elements.

While terminals are often referred to as “mobile” in the precedingdiscussion the term “mobile” should not be construed to require that aterminal always be mobile, merely that it has the capability of being incommunication with a wireless telecommunications network or IP network,depending on the context, which allows mobility. For instance, a PCterminal or an machine to machine (M2M) client that has never moved fromany particular geographic location may in a sense be considered mobileas it could be moved to a different location while still accesses thesame network. The term “mobile terminal” is used in the presentdiscussion just to be read as including the possibility of a terminalthat is “semi-permanent” or even “fixed” where the context does notcontradict such an interpretation.

Additionally, the “network” in the preceding discussion should bethought of as having at least a wireless element and, typically,internet protocol (IP) elements.

Those skilled in the art will realise that storage devices utilised tostore program instructions can be distributed across a network. Forexample, a remote computer may store an example of the process describedas software. A local or terminal computer may access the remote computerand download a part or all of the software to run the program.Alternatively, the local computer may download pieces of the software asneeded, or execute some software instructions at the local terminal andsome at the remote computer (or computer network). Those skilled in theart will also realise that by utilising conventional techniques known tothose skilled in the art that all, or a portion of the softwareinstructions may be carried out by a dedicated circuit, such as a DSP,programmable logic array, or the like.

The steps of the methods described herein may be carried out in anysuitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate. Additionally,individual blocks may be deleted from any of the methods withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the subject matter describedherein. Aspects of any of the examples or embodiments described abovemay be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described toform further examples without losing the effect sought.

The processes described herein should not be understood to prescribe afixed order of performing the method steps described therein. Rather,the method steps may be performed in any order that is practicable.Although the present invention has been described in connection withspecific exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that variouschanges, substitutions, and alterations apparent to those skilled in theart can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for facilitatingtelecommunications between a first device and a second device bysupplementing the telecommunications with additional call content datarepresentative of one or more determined characteristics associated withthe telecommunications, the method being performed by the first deviceand comprising: prior to a call request leaving the first device over afirst communications channel and being delivered to the second device toinitiate a voice communications call, at least one of receiving,transmitting, or receiving and transmitting call content data over asecond communications channel, wherein: the call content data includesinformation representative of one or more characteristics associatedwith the voice communications call, and the call content data istransmitted to the second device in advance of the call request beingreceived by the second device; only after the call content data istransmitted to and received at the second device, transmitting the callrequest to the second device to establish the voice communications callwith the second device; generating call details in dependence on thevoice communications call; generating a record of the call, wherein therecord comprises the call details stored in association with the callcontent data; and displaying a call log on the first device, thedisplayed call log displaying the record of the call, wherein the recordof the call is selectable and, when selected, a link to the call contentdata is provided, wherein selection of the link either retrieves thecall content data from a local memory or triggers a request to downloadthe call content data from a remote location.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the call details comprise one or more of a time, adate, a duration of the voice communications call, or a number of thesecond device.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the callcontent data comprises one or more of: an indication of an importance, asubject or a reason for the voice communications call; location data;one or more images; or other data or media associated with the voicecommunications call.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein thecall content data is stored on the first device.
 5. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the call content data is stored at a remote locationfrom the first device.
 6. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: generating the call log, which comprises a plurality of callrecords, including said record of the call; and displaying the call logon the first device.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein thefirst channel is either a circuit switched channel or a packet switchedchannel.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second channelis either a circuit switched channel or a packet switched channel. 9.The method according to claim 1, wherein the first channel is a circuitswitched channel and the second channel is a packet switched channel.10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first and secondchannels are provided by Rich Communications Suite (RCS).
 11. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the method further includes: performingthe voice communications call with the second device over the firstcommunications channel by transmitting, from the first device to thesecond device, an enhanced call request comprising the call request andthe call content data, wherein a record comprises the call detailsstored in association with the call request and the call content data.12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the call request istransmitted over the first channel and the call content data istransmitted over the second channel, the first channel being differentto the second channel.
 13. The method according to claim 11, whereinperforming the voice communications call with the second device furthercomprises, before placing the voice communications call, inputtingadditional data representative of the call data, the additional datacomprising one or more of: an importance of the voice communicationscall; one or more of subject, reason, or context of the voicecommunications call; a location; or an image.
 14. A mobile telephonecomprising a memory unit, a processor unit, a communication interface,the processor unit coupled to the memory unit, and the communicationinterface, wherein the memory unit comprises instructions storedthereon, which when executed by the processor unit, causes the mobiletelephone to perform a method for facilitating telecommunicationsbetween the mobile telephone and a second device by supplementing thetelecommunications with additional call content data representative ofone or more determined characteristics associated with thetelecommunications, the method comprising: prior to a call requestleaving the mobile telephone over a first communications channel andbeing delivered to the second device to initiate a voice communicationscall, at least one of receiving, transmitting, or receiving andtransmitting, by the communication interface, call content data over asecond communications channel, wherein: the call content data includesinformation representative of one or more characteristics associatedwith the voice communications call, and the call content data istransmitted to the second device in advance of the call request beingreceived by the second device; only after the call content data istransmitted to and received at the second device, transmitting the callrequest to the second device to establish the voice communications callwith the second device; generating, by the processor unit, call detailsin dependence on the voice communications call; generating, by theprocessor unit, a record of the call, wherein the record comprises thecall details stored in association with the call content data anddisplaying a call log, the displayed call log displaying the record ofthe call, wherein the record of the call is selectable and, whenselected, a link to the call content data is provided, wherein selectionof the link either retrieves the call content data from a local memoryor triggers a request to download the call content data from a remotelocation.
 15. A tangible computer readable medium comprising computerprogram code to configure a first device to perform a method forfacilitating telecommunications between the first device and a seconddevice by supplementing the telecommunications with additional callcontent data representative of one or more determined characteristicsassociated with the telecommunications, the method comprising: prior toa call request leaving the first device over a first communicationschannel and being delivered to the second device to initiate a voicecommunications call, at least one of receiving, transmitting, orreceiving and transmitting call content data over a secondcommunications channel, wherein: the call content data includesinformation representative of one or more characteristics associatedwith the voice communications call, and the call content data istransmitted to the second device in advance of the call request beingreceived by the second device; only after the call content data istransmitted to and received at the second device, transmitting the callrequest to the second device to establish the voice communications callwith the second device; generating call details in dependence on thevoice communications call; generating a record of the call, wherein therecord comprises the call details stored in association with the callcontent data; and displaying a call log on the first device, thedisplayed call log displaying the record of the call, wherein the recordof the call is selectable and, when selected, a link to the call contentdata is provided, wherein selection of the link either retrieves thecall content data from a local memory or triggers a request to downloadthe call content data from a remote location.